Born and raised in Otaki, Peter left Otaki College at 15 to work on a farm before moving into an apprenticeship as a fitter welder at engineering firm, Willis Brothers in Otaki.

With several years’ work under the belt and having met Ann-Marie, the couple decided they needed to do something for themselves and Peter started contracting as a mobile engineer, and operating their business out of their home for many years.

Moving into concrete repair and decorative concrete, Peter’s hard work, determination and flair for thinking outside of the box came to the fore, and the company became Concrete Doctors. Building a reputation over the years for being experts in their field saw Concrete Doctors awarded their then biggest contract with the build of the Westpac Stadium in  Wellington, jumping from 4 to 24 staff in a year.

Today, Peter and Concrete Doctors are sought out by artists and architects for their decorative work, and have been referenced as the concrete repair experts on the TV show Grand Designs New Zealand. As Peter observes “people come to us when they have concrete problems they can’t solve”.

Despite working all around New Zealand, Peter and Ann-Marie keep their yard in Otaki, recruit locally and being prepared to give work opportunities that other employers wouldn’t consider. They give credit to their “awesome staff”.

They believe in putting back into the business to help it grow and are always looking for ways to do better and move forward.

They have a strong sense of community, participating and supporting many community groups and organisations. Peter was made a member of the Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship.

Peter is a past President of the Otaki Canoe Polo Club, and has just retired after 10 years as the coach for the New Zealand Women’s Canoe Polo Squad, winning a World Championship Title in 2016. He was Kapiti Sports Person of the Year in 2015 is a member of the Otaki Surf Life Saving Club, still qualified as a surf lifesaver after 40 years.

Peter is a modest man, not at ease talking about himself. But his story can be an inspiration to many today. Hard work; clever work; a successful business; leading by example; giving opportunities to others, and community focused.